Meaning of Law:
The Teutonic word ‘Lag, is the predecessor of the word “Law”. It means “definite”. Law can be defined as something which is definite in nature and yet contemporary. It is a uniform rule of conduct that applies to each citizen of the state. Law is the rules and regulations which define the basic conducts and activities of humans in a society.
1. “Law is the command of the sovereign.” “It is the command of the superior to an inferior and force is the sanction behind Law.” —Austin
2. “A Law is a general rule of external behavior enforced by a sovereign political authority.” –Holland
Law is a definite set of rules which is backed up by the sovereign power of the state. Violation of law results in punishment by the state. The degree of punishment is different for every law. Punishment is one side of the law, whereas the other side of law involves justice for the victim.
A.V Dicey propounded three principles or postulates of the rule of law. According to Dicey, these three principles would help achieve the supremacy of law. These principles were:
1. Supremacy of Law
2. Equality before Law
3. The predominance of Legal Spirit
Functions: Justice and Peaceful Change
Justice is something that represents just and right. Justice is being impartial, just, and right. Being just depends on the context but its requirement is essential to the idea of justice.
Justice has various definitions under different schools of jurisprudence. The natural law school of jurisprudence says that justice is the implementation of religious laws. The modern school of jurisprudence says that justice is incomplete without implementing concepts like equality and liberty. In both cases, justice is the enforcement of what holds good in the eyes of law. The modern school of jurisprudence says that whatever the legislature makes and the implementation of it is the law.
Law through peaceful change aims to achieve a state of social justice, which is an evolution and is permanent in nature. In the current scenario, social justice can be defined as something which is based on equality of States, right of all people to self-determination and recognition of all the fundamental rights. Another aspect of peaceful change is to build international relationships with other states without the use of force.
Peaceful change, in fact, aims to achieve a given concept of social justice, which itself is in permanent evolution. At the present time, this concept of social justice could be roughly defined as being based on the equality of States, on the equality and right of all people to self-determination, furthermore on the respect of fundamental human rights and freedom, and on other purposes which lead to more just, more peaceful and more harmonious international relations without the use of force.
Classification of Laws
Public and Private Law
Public Law – Public law deals with the relationship between the states, its citizens, and other states. Public law mostly deals with the problems of the citizens with their states. When any right is violated by any citizen, public law deals with it. Also when a citizen goes does something which is wrong “In rem”, the aspect of public law comes into place. Examples of public law are Constitutional law, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, International Law, etc.
Private Law – Private law is mostly concerned with the rights and liabilities between individuals. The area of private law is very limited. It focuses on resolving the disputes between the two parties. Here the states are involved in providing a proper mechanism for the dispute resolution. The legal process I started by the individual against an individual. Private law is also called ‘Civil Law’.
Substantive and Procedural Law
Substantive Law – It is a statutory law that deals with the legal relationship between people or in some cases between people and the state. The substantive law defines the rights and duties of a person and also defines the punishments on breaking the substantive law. It defines how people need to behave inside a society and governs them with rules and regulations. For example, substantive law is used to determine whether a crime was a hate crime or not.
Procedural Law – It is the set of rules which govern the procedure followed in a court of law. Procedural law is for both criminal and civil cases. The courts need to follow the procedure set up by the procedural laws. The rules set by the procedural law establish a fair practice and due process of law.
Municipal and International Law
Municipal Law – Municipal laws are the laws that are made by the sovereign state for them. These are also known as internal laws. Municipal laws include the law from the local level to the national level. It includes the law at the state, provincial and territorial. In a Democratic, Republic State, the laws are made by the representatives of the general public.
International Law – International laws are made by the collective decision of two or more states. International laws are first made with the view of world peace. International laws were developed after the First World War with the Treaty of Versailles. After the Second World War, the United Nations was formed which is the largest International Body of the world, and many other International Organizations like WHO, UNESCO, and UNICEF come under it. International law is divided between two-parts
- Private International law – Private International law deals with the differences between the two states. For example, treaties are made; International arbitration takes place between the two states.
- Public International Law – These laws include the standard of international behavior, the laws of the sea, diplomatic law, human rights law, and environmental law. These laws are known as “customary “laws.
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